*World Cup Game Discussion Thread* (SPOILERS)

[Northwood_DK]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

Did I miss something or are you being sarcastic?

He means 12. Ronaldo has the weight of two normal players.

[SirFozzie]

If this was a wrestling card, the Saudi-Tunisia match would be the match where everyone heads to the concessions/bathrooms

[Icy]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

Did I miss something or are you being sarcastic?

Probably the missing man he is talking about is Ronaldo, he just walked around for the whole game. It took him good money to grow his belly and he doesn't want to lose it running.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

Did I miss something or are you being sarcastic?

I think he's being sarcastic, and talking about Ronaldo.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

If this was a wrestling card, the Saudi-Tunisia match would be the match where everyone heads to the concessions/bathrooms

And the way things look now, one of them will be canon fodder for Korea in the second round.

[Butter]

Nice defending by Tunisia on the 84th minute goal. How can you give up a 2 on 1 in that situation?

[MIJB#19]

Ukraine can be happy, the game is level again.

[MrBug708]

What an equalizer!

[sovereignstar]

I dig the Saudi players standing in the box with their thumbs up their asses with just minutes to go.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

What an equalizer!

Not only that, but with 30 seconds to go he throws himself in front of a piledriver to make sure it stays 2-2. Fantastic block.

[Butter]

Terrific finish.

[MIJB#19]

So, every team has played one game, time to rank the 32 teams in order of how good they are (according to me. ):
1. Brazil
2. Czech Republic
3. Spain
4. Argentina
5. Netherlands
6. Italy
7. Ivory Coast
8. Croatia
9. Portugal
10. England *
11. France
12. Mexico
13. Serbia & Montenegro
14. Switzerland
15. Germany
16. Ukraine
17. Sweden
18. Ghana
19. Paraguay *
20. USA
21. Australia
22. Togo
23. South Korea
24. Ecuador
25. Japan
26. Angola
27. Poland
28. Tunisia
29. Iran
30. Trinidad & Tobago
31. Saudi Arabia
32. Costa Rica
* = ranked based on hear-say, I didn't see England-Paraguay

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

20. USA

generous*


*if based on performance thus far

[MJ4H]

Based on how impressed I was with their performance in their first game.

My Top 10
1. Spain
2. Czech Republic
3. Brazil
4. Germany
5. Argentina
6. Italy
7. Portugal
8. Netherlands
9. Mexico
10.England

[Icy]

Based on the 1st game perfomance i would put Brazil way lower, but of course they are the best and will show it when needed.

[rexallllsc]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

So, every team has played one game, time to rank the 32 teams in order of how good they are (according to me. ):

20. USA
21. Australia
23. South Korea

* = ranked based on hear-say, I didn't see England-Paraguay

I think Australia and SK would smack us right now.

[Jonathan Ezarik]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

So, every team has played one game, time to rank the 32 teams in order of how good they are (according to me. ):
11. France

Holland must have its own World Cup feed that they aren't showing the rest of the world.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Ezarik

Holland must have its own World Cup feed that they aren't showing the rest of the world.

There was no serious feed during the game, everybody fell asleep, or so they say. I had to guess how good France is.


By the way, Germany - Poland makes for a great rivalry so far.

[cartman]

The German blew that header opportunity

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by cartman

The German blew that header opportunity

Yeah, tha ball was so Klose...

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by law90026

I think the issue is that most American high-school athletes tend to do multiple sports and the favourite sports will tend to be the American sports.

Most soccer players that play professionally dedicate themselves to soccer exclusively from a relatively young age. Don't get me wrong, these guys are athletes as well (Ryan Giggs was really good at rugby if I recall correctly) but they really only train in soccer from a certain point on.

Also, and this is personal opinion, the other issue may be that American athletes have various avenues to get "rich". For European soccer players, they don't really have that option to play in other sports and so it's all or nothing sometimes.

Maybe multi-sport hurts a little technically, but I don't think overall it's a big deal. See Antonio Gates. If anything, it might provide an advantage as more players like Oguchi that are both huge and fast come through the ranks. Football is actually good preperation for soccer as it emphasizes footwork, agility, and acceleration.

I don't think the US will ever be a top technical team, but that's not the only way to win. I agree about the professional sports avenue since right now you need to play overseas to make big bucks. A lot of players don't want to do that.

[Abe Sargent]

What's the name fo teh song that comes on the stadium speakers at the end of each match? It sounds like Pet Shop Boys, "Go West," which I beleive is a remake of a Village People song.

-Anxiety

[cartman]

Another choke by a German attacker. He had the whole goal open and missed.

[sovereignstar]

Do guys ever just get up off the fucking field instead of grabbing a body part and wincing? This isn't aimed at any particular team because I don't watch enough soccer, but for fuck's sakes. It's the biggest thing about soccer that turns me off.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by Anxiety

What's the name fo teh song that comes on the stadium speakers at the end of each match? It sounds like Pet Shop Boys, "Go West," which I beleive is a remake of a Village People song.

-Anxiety

I've been thinking the exact same thing. But I have no idea what it is.

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

Do guys ever just get up off the fucking field instead of grabbing a body part and wincing? This isn't aimed at any particular team because I don't watch enough soccer, but for fuck's sakes. It's the biggest thing about soccer that turns me off.

Mostly to get theother team a card and/or get a free kick

[sovereignstar]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Mostly to get theother team a card and/or get a free kick

I understand that. It's just the degree to which the players do it that is ridiculous.

[Icy]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

I understand that. It's just the degree to which the players do it that is ridiculous.

Agree, and i'm watching soccer for over 20 years already. I have also played it when i was younger and also watched tons of kids soccer and that is the first thing they all learn to do. It's really anyoning, and even more when the doctor comes, drops a bit of water over the hurting part and then they get up totally healed. It's called here "the magic water".

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar

I understand that. It's just the degree to which the players do it that is ridiculous.

I agree. I couldn't tell if I was watching the Swedish soccer team or the Swedish Springboard Diving team. Not trying to pick on them as every match has somebody rolling over and screaming and hollering at the top of their lungs, then getting up, taking 2 ginger steps, then racing upfield after the ball. Yeah, right.

I think my favorite was the Croatian yesterday who jumped over his goalkeeper making barely any contact at all, then rolling on the ground grabbing his ankle to try and counter the writhing player from the other team. I mean it's downright comical.

[MIJB#19]

Go Poland, only a couple more minutes to hold that 0-0 draw.

[MIJB#19]

Wow! Twice on the bar!!!

[Katon]

You can't exactly say it's unfair, but that's got to be really tough on the Poles.

[MIJB#19]

Dang, they win afterall... Should have known better with Germany...

[cartman]

Nice final charge by the Germans. I thought that maybe hitting the bar twice there at the end (I can see the header hitting the bar, but how did Ballack hit the crossbar from 1 meter out?) would have deflated their attack.

[Celeval]

Couple of great finishes today.

[Jonathan Ezarik]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

I think my favorite was the Croatian yesterday who jumped over his goalkeeper making barely any contact at all, then rolling on the ground grabbing his ankle to try and counter the writhing player from the other team. I mean it's downright comical.

To be fair to the Croatian player, I'm pretty sure his ankle did get rolled a bit by the Brazilian player before he jumped over the keeper. At first I thought it was horrible acting too, but on replay you can see his ankle roll.

As for all the acting, I don't like it either, but it's part of the game. Kind of like receivers in the NFL all screaming for a flag when they miss a pass, defenders crying that they're being held, and Seahawk fans complaining that the refs stole the Super Bowl.

[Northwood_DK]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Dang, they win afterall... Should have known better with Germany...

Never underestimate the old Lineker quote

"Soccer is a game where 22 people are running after a ball and Germany wins in the end".

[John Galt]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

I've been thinking the exact same thing. But I have no idea what it is.

Wow. I'm glad I'm not alone. It always starts out like "Go West" until it transitions into something boring. Very odd.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Northwood_DK

Never underestimate the old Lineker quote

"Soccer is a game where 22 people are running after a ball and Germany wins in the end".

The Dutch reporter brought it up going into the last minute. Not that it needs memory refreshing overhere, it's a widely known fact. At least the earlier Ecuador win over Poland forced Germany to go for it in their last game, that's good.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Ezarik

As for all the acting, I don't like it either, but it's part of the game. Kind of like receivers in the NFL all screaming for a flag when they miss a pass, defenders crying that they're being held, and Seahawk fans complaining that the refs stole the Super Bowl.

It's a bit like players screaming after a play to get the late flag to come flying, but that's not anywhere near the level of "professional" soccer (I put it in quotes because soccer is at a professional level aside from this playacting). The closest another sport comes to it is hockey, and they've finally got rules in place to deal with this junk.

Of course, note that soccer and hockey are far more popular sports overseas vs. here in the U.S., and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if this was one reason why. And the fact that it's lower in hockey may lend to hockey beating soccer out over here. Sorry, but this acting is just way too overblown for a U.S. audience to tolerate.

Edit to add: here in hockey, they differentiate two high-sticking penalties. They look for actual blood before calling the more severe one. Maybe soccer needs that: show me the blood on the sock before I call the foul...

[Fighter of Foo]

I find it hard to understand what's not entertaining about a grown man rolling around on the ground clutching a random body part while his teammate simultaneously sprints to the referee doing the imaginary card wave.

If you don't like it, at least laugh at, mock and ridicule the players who participate in this sort of nonsense and cheer for the ones who don't.

FYI, from what I've seen so far, the referees have largely been excellent in picking out the cheats/divers.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Originally Posted by Desnudo

I think you're being overly pessimistic. A great amount of excellent athletes play soccer until a certain age and then quit. Granted, I doubt we'll see 11 Ray Lewis' knocking the ball around, but I think that players like Eddie Johnson will become the norm.

Yes, but 11 Eddie Johnson's will neither win a World Cup nor make the MLS a superpower league, which is what I was responding to. Will the U.S. continue to get better - yes. Will it win a World Cup in 10 years (that's the next two ones) or have DC United challenging or outplaying AC Milan or Bayern Munich -- not a chance.

[SirFozzie]

Red Bull New York beat Bayern Munich this year.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Heh - don't be so pessimistic ... it wasn't long ago that people said similar things about Greece not having a chance of winning the European Championships ...

Spoken like a true European. I love European football, and think it has some of the best players. But the time has long gone that the European Championship represents anywere near a collection of the best teams in the world. I stand by my statement that Greece, a second tier team, will never win the World Cup (but could make the semi-finals when the planets align).

I think people who said that about Greece not winning the European Championship would have been right several years ago. But of late, European football has become very diluted, and so when the planets align, a second tier team in Europe can WIN the European Championship. Not only Greece, but before that there was Denmark, Czech Republic, etc. The World cup is a whole different ball game.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Red Bull New York beat Bayern Munich this year.

Exhibition of course with the visiting team on a holiday (and I know you're being sarcastic). But that's not to say an isolated victory might not happen. But the prior comment was that the MLS could become a super power league in 10 years. That would mean regular victories by all kinds of MLS teams against the world's top teams in games that matter - not going to happen.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

So, every team has played one game, time to rank the 32 teams in order of how good they are (according to me. ):
11. France

Are you French? Your list loses something with putting France 11th. They were completely devoid of imagination, creativity, passion, skill and could have easily lost. They are way down the list. Worse than some of the losing teams like Ghana, Japan, etc.

[Celeval]

Originally Posted by Vinatieri for Prez

Are you French?

UIC of the highest nature.

He's Dutch, actually.

[kingfc22]

Geez, could Spain have gotten an easier draw? They essentially have a bye into the round of 16.

[Katon]

Well, they could've gotten France's draw. That one should be even easier, if France weren't making such a meal of it.

MIJB: Are those rankings based on past performance or how they've looked in Germany? Either way, there's some strange decisions (Croatia over Portugal/England makes no sense in the first case, but Ukraine and the US especially are *much* too high in the second case).

[law90026]

Do guys ever just get up off the fucking field instead of grabbing a body part and wincing? This isn't aimed at any particular team because I don't watch enough soccer, but for fuck's sakes. It's the biggest thing about soccer that turns me off.

There isn't much choice unfortunately. If you watch enough soccer, you realise that not going to ground means it's unlikely you get a free-kick. And if you go to ground but spring back up immediately, it appears you dived. So you have to at least pretend to be slightly more hurt than you really are.